Category Archive: Exercise

There’s a psychological technique called “The 5 Whys” that is used in anything from business problem solving to interrogation to solutions for individuals to figure out the absolute core cause of something. You ask the question “Why?” 5 times to uncover the underlying reason for action. THIS is the heart of the matter.

If you’re a personal trainer, or you are an exercise buff or if you’ve even taken a general health or exercise 101 class in college, you have probably heard of the F.I.T.T. Model for how to create workouts. F.I.T.T. stands for frequency, intensity, time (or duration) and type. This is a simple starting point for putting …

Okay, okay. Today I have to swallow my pride and admit that I actually don’t know everything there is to know about exercise. In fact, if my old ways are any indication, the thing I know the most about it how to be a Cardio Queen :-\ BUT. It’s been a long time since the …

If you’re like most women, you struggle with some insecurities and self-doubt. On some level, you don’t think you’re good enough.

Maybe you pepper your language with “shoulds” and apologize for being you, or maybe you preface everything with a, “I know I need to be better…” or maybe you self-judge constantly, saying something and …

In order to attain a very lean physique, it takes a certain amount of obsession.

And I say that with zero unkindness and with no judgment. It’s just a fact. It’s difficult to attain a super lean body without prepping and cooking your meals at home for the week. It’s nearly impossible to achieve a …

Though he hates the attention, one of the perks to being married to a professional brainiac is that we get to constantly discuss really awesome stuff–biochemistry, research, behavior, psychology, natural health, relationships, personal development, learning, growing, risking, improving. Many have commented that we are “so intense” because Jade and I live, eat, breathe this stuff. …

… seemed to be the only words I could breathe around all the gasping for air that was going on. Tara and I were in the middle of the JillFit Birthday Workout, doing it for the first time last summer when I turned 31. And I wanted to punch myself in the face …

As a recovering Cardio Queen, and someone who has struggled with exercise addiction, I have spent the last 5 years priding myself on how little cardio I do compared to the old days when I worked out 3 and 4 hours a day. I get my …

Lately, there’s been a lot of hating on cardio among fitness pros. Let’s get this straight–the idea that cardio makes people fat is absurd. Is it the best way to lose fat? No. Can it be detrimental if overdone? Of course. But to say that any kind of exercise is “bad” for you, especially if …

Walking down the path to our 7am breakfast with fellow Lululemon’ed up fitness pros Jen Sinkler and Neghar Fonooni, I turned to them and said, “You know, this trip is an example of something I would normally never do.”

Ok, I’ll admit it. I used to think bodyweight exercises were a cop-out. I mean … really?? Isn’t that for “beginners” and people who can’t handle “real” weight training? Well, that’s what I thought until my friend (and expert in female fitness) Nia Shanks showed me up with her new Beautiful Badass Bodyweight Workout Guide.

Here at JillFit, and over on the Metabolic Effect blog, we tend to strictly profess the physiological effects of exercise, most importantly weight training. I doubt I need to convince you of the many benefits of weight training for the body. BUT, if you’ve forgotten, allow me to be annoyingly thorough

I hate running. Ugh. And I would never call myself a runner. I’ve never had that “running build”–you know the one where the people look like it’s effortless, like their gliding over the ground, barely breathing hard? Instead of running, I always felt like I was “muscling.” And I guess in many ways I was, …

Most posts at JillFit are about fat loss. We do metabolic weight workouts, manage carb intake and sprint real fast. But what about for those who want to build muscle? You’ll have to take a slightly different approach.

I’ve talked before about my ex-exercise addiction. It came up again recently after I posted a post-workout pic on Facebook…Jill and I started talking about the very first email I sent to her almost 4 years ago detailing my workout schedule at the time. I dug up that first email, and I …

The Black Friday Workout is a bit of a tradition here at JillFit. What can I say, except … we like to kick our own asses. Especially after a big meal where we may wake up holding water, puffy, and feeling a little sluggish. There’s no faster way to get you back into fat-burning mode, …